Administration close to approving nonlethal military aid — Poland wants more U.S. troops — Thornberry closer to HASC chairmanship

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MORE SANCTIONS AND NONLETHAL AID ARE COMING BUT WHAT ABOUT TROOPS? Secretary of State John Kerry is in Geneva today to meet with his Russian counterpart to talk about Ukraine, but already administration officials are predicting more sanctions, not any kind of breakthrough, reports POLITICO’s Edward Isaac-Dovere.

“‘We are actively preparing new sanctions. We are also looking at tomorrow’s meeting for an indication that Russia will, or intends to pursue a path of deescalation rather than escalation,’ White House press secretary Jay Carney said on Air Force One Wednesday, en route to an event with the president outside of Pittsburgh.” http://politi.co/1jLKh16

— COATS AND MEDICAL SUPPLIES ALMOST APPROVED, reports The Wall Street Journal’s Adam Entous: “After a month of internal deliberations, the Obama administration is close to authorizing a limited shipment of nonlethal supplies to Ukrainian forces, including medicine and clothes, U.S. officials said Wednesday.

“The White House has, so far, been reluctant to provide even nonlethal gear to Ukraine's underequipped and outnumbered armed forces to aid them in their standoff with Russian troops across the border.” http://on.wsj.com/1ir29P5

POLAND WANTS A STRONGER U.S., NATO PRESENCE, via Defense News’ Marcus Weisgerber: Polish Defense Minister Tomasz Siemoniak is scheduled to meet with Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel today and plans to “discuss ways the U.S. military could partner more with Poland at a time when Russia flexes its military muscles on the Crimean Peninsula and near Ukraine.”

“In the longer-term perspective, what we would like to see very much in Poland is the development of NATO and American infrastructure and an increasing military presence of both the U.S/ and NATO in our country,” Siemoniak told Defense News yesterday. “Poland is very much interested in increasing the allied American presence in Poland.” http://goo.gl/1vt6Dv

MEANWHILE, NATO IS ALREADY INCREASING ITS PRESENCE ALONG ITS EASTERN BORDER, reports the AP’s Juergen Baetz and John-Thor Dahlburg: “Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said NATO's air policing aircraft will fly more sorties over the Baltic region west of Ukraine, far from the tensions in the eastern part of the country. He said allied warships will also deploy to the Baltic Sea, the eastern Mediterranean and elsewhere if needed.

“NATO's supreme commander in Europe told reporters that ground forces could also be involved at some point, but gave no details.” http://abcn.ws/1kArRBl

— BREEDLOVE FINALIZING POSSIBLE OPTIONS: “Air Force Gen. Philip Breedlove said multiple nations have approached him with offers of ground forces that will be included in a plan of operations he will give to NATO later Wednesday or Thursday,” according to the AP report. “Breedlove said the package of new military moves is designed to remain in place through Dec. 31.”

HOUSE LAWMAKERS HEAD TO KIEV: The leaders of the House Foreign Affairs Committee are planning a trip to Ukraine next week “to assess the effect of ongoing U.S. efforts to support Ukraine.” Committee Chairman Ed Royce (R-Calif.) and ranking member Rep. Eliot Engel (D-N.Y.) will lead the bipartisan delegation on Monday to Wednesday.

It plans to “examine Ukraine’s efforts to diversify its energy supply and assess efforts to expand hours and quality of U.S. international broadcasting (Voice of America, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty) into eastern Ukraine and counter Russian propaganda,” the committee said in a statement. http://1.usa.gov/1hWvnAM

— Vice President Joe Biden is also planning a trip to Ukraine next week, arriving in Kiev on Tuesday.

THORNBERRY’S HASC CHAIRMANSHIP LOOKING MORE LIKE A SURE BET, via POLITICO’s Jeremy Herb and Austin Wright: “The defense industry is putting its fundraising dollars solidly behind Rep. Mac Thornberry as the Texas Republican looks to stave off a competitive race for the House Armed Services gavel.

“Thornberry, who has the endorsement of retiring Armed Services Chairman Buck McKeon (R-Calif.), outpaced his rivals by collecting nearly $70,000 in campaign contributions from the defense and aerospace industry in the first quarter of the year, according to federal election filings.

“Reps. Mike Turner (R-Ohio) and Randy Forbes (R-Va.), also considered to be in the running for the Armed Services gavel, reported about $22,000 and $20,000 in defense-related contributions, respectively.” http://politico.pro/1nqJrrj

F-35 TO MAKE FIRST U.K. FLIGHT THIS SUMMER: Lockheed Martin’s F-35 Lightning II will make its first international flights in July in the United Kingdom, British Defense Secretary Philip Hammond said yesterday. The aircraft will make its international debut in July at the Royal International Air Tattoo in Fairford and will also fly in July at the Farnborough International Airshow. In a statement, Hammond said Britain’s role in the program made it “entirely fitting that the F-35’s first stop outside the United States will be in the U.K.”

A (NEW) FAVORITE PASTIME? HATING ON THE NEW YORK TIMES’ OP-ED PAGE: For the defense world, yesterday was a helluva day to bash The New York Times’ op-ed page, with folks taking to Twitter to vent their frustrations.

The biggest target was an essay from Kathleen Belew, a postdoctoral fellow in history at Northwestern University, in which she argued there’s a link between vets returning from combat and membership in radical right-wing groups. She highlighted the fact that both Frazier Glenn Miller, the man charged with killing three people in Kansas on Sunday, and Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh were Army veterans. http://nyti.ms/1jJDAN0

Belew doesn’t mention that Miller was forced to retire in 1979 for distributing racist materials.

“Paul Rieckhoff, director of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, was outraged by Belew’s piece, which he called ‘sensational, slanderous and incredibly offensive to veterans,’” writes Military Times’ Jeff Schogol. Rieckhoff said the Times owes veterans an apology for running the piece. http://goo.gl/CiIvEa

Fred Wellman (@FPWellman), CEO of ScoutComms, a veterans advocacy group, tweeted, “I actually took a Twitter sabbatical today for a few hours to stop being pissed about being a potential supremacist #itsvetsfault”

GAME OF GROANS: On a lighter note, but also attracting a lot of fury, was a column by Maureen Dowd, titled “Game of Drones.” The gist: Americans should be worried about tech companies like Google and Amazon acquiring unmanned aircraft. http://nyti.ms/1hMN8bz

— NOT EVERYONE’S LAUGHING: Trying to highlight the absurdity of the recent all-vets-are-crazy coverage, the satirical military news website, The Duffel Blog, ran a fake news story about how Rep. Jim Moran (D-Va.) had introduced legislation requiring veterans to warn their neighbors about their combat service. http://goo.gl/s9dzCG

Guess who isn’t laughing? Moran. “I have advocated for billions in veterans funding to support those suffering from PTSD who risked their lives for our country,” Moran said yesterday in a statement. “I am issuing this statement to make clear I disassociate myself with something that, while meant to be humorous, was in poor taste and hurtful to our veterans.” http://1.usa.gov/1hMLdUt

SPEED READ

— The post-election vote tabulation in Afghanistan is taking place in secret with independent election monitors being cut out of the process. Stars and Stripes: http://1.usa.gov/1pb1PJr

— The Taliban was able to successfully attack Camp Bastion in Afghanistan in 2012 due to “inadequate defenses and high-level complacency in the British Army,” a panel of U.K. lawmakers has concluded. Bloomberg: http://bloom.bg/1kzMtdb

— The defense secretary announces a review of the Uniform Code of Military Justice. Army Times: http://goo.gl/lOJvka